Yeah, that IS rather strange. I will say the vast majority of murders here are gang related. New Orleans does have a rather unique dichotomy of people. There is a lot of old money, side by side with a lot of poverty. It's a sad thing, but again, most of the poorer people here choose welfare over work.

To point out a few of my issues with the welfare system, think about it this way. Say a couple on welfare has a baby. They get let's say $600 a month in support from the government. Now they have a second baby. Instead of $600 they get $500 a month for the second baby. The rational is that some costs are shared. No need to buy a new crib when the old one will do. Third child gets $400.

Now, if a single mother has a child, she gets $600 a month. If she has a second child WITH A DIFFERENT FATHER, she gets another $600 a month. See, now it's considered 2 different family units. What this is doing is promoting a total breakdown of family. We are actually rewarding people NOT to try and make a cohesive family. Imagine having 4-5 siblings all with different fathers. What kind of structure could you possibly have in life? This isn't to say that they don't have a chance, but it DOES make it much harder to excel.

Years ago I dated a girl who worked at a low-income school. Basically it was a special needs school for the underprivileged. She had one girl who was particularly bright. She came crying to me that night because the mother had fought to have her child labeled as having a learning disability. See, you get more money per month from the government if you have a special needs child. This woman was trading away her child's education for a little extra money a month for herself. Disgusting.

The unfortunate thing for New Orleans is that these are the types of people that always seem to make on the national media. Did you ever see a single picture of anyone in New Orleans post-katrina wearing a suit or working to rebuild an office building? I didn't, although that's precisely the environment I was working in. All the national media covered was the poverty-stricken masses at the superdome or the crack-addict looters. I guess it's the same kind of phenomena that makes tornadoes always hit trailer parks. They don't, of course, but it makes the most sensational news.